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I still don’t know what he’d said to get her up there; that had always been a secret between the two of them that they had refused to divulge, but the end result was still the same … On the evening o
f our graduation, I had waited in my suit and tie, breathless and nervous, for Shelly to meet me on the roof. She’d opened the door and stepped out, her eyes surveying the area in awe, before landing on me. Her smile had been wide, but puzzled, and she’d walked toward me slowly. When she’d almost reached me, I dropped to my knee and told her all of the reasons why I needed her in my life forever.
We’d cried together, and she said yes. It was the most amazing night of my life, and all of our friends had been there to help us celebrate.
“You want to recreate that night,” Scott said. “The night you proposed.
“I do,” I replied. “If that doesn’t work … Nothing will.”
“What if she says no?” Gaby asked softly, her face still wrought with worry. Out of all of our friends, she was the one who took things to heart the most. I knew, if Shelly and I divorced, she would take it the hardest out of all of our friends, and I loved her dearly for it.
“If she says no … I’ll deal with it, Gaby. I’ll have no choice. She gave me eight weeks, I can’t ask for more than that,” I answered truthfully. “I’ll never stop loving her, but I’ll have to move on with my life.”
Gaby nodded sadly, a tear running down her cheek. I walked over to her and wiped her face with my palm.
“Happy thoughts, Gabs,” I said with a smile. “I’m not going out without a fight.”
She took a deep breath and nodded, giving me a watery smile.
I turned and looked at each of my friends in the eyes before asking, “Are you all in?”
“You know it, brother,” Scott said. “Gaby and I know where to go and what to get to make the roof look the same as it did that night.”
I turned to TJ.
“Yeah, man … I’ll get her there. You just let me know what time,” TJ said with a grin.
I looked at Sasha, who didn’t look convinced.
“What?” she asked. “You want me to take her shopping? What if this isn’t one of the greatest nights of her life, but rather … one of the worst? Do you really want her to remember it forever?”
“No, Sasha, I don’t expect you to help her get dressed up. I couldn’t care less what she is wearing, and you’re right, this night could go either way … Really good, or really bad. I just want you to take her out beforehand and get her something nice. Something that will make her happy, regardless of the outcome of the night. As before, I’ll give you the money … I just want you to make sure she’s happy. I know that you’re still pissed at me, I get it … But you have to know that I love her, and that I always will, regardless of the dumbass mistake that I made.”
I looked deeply into Sasha’s eyes, imploring her to believe me, knowing deep down that no matter how disappointed I’d made her, she knew that the love I felt for Shelly was the real thing.
“Okay,” Sasha said finally. “What do you want me to get her?”
“I’ve got just the thing,” I responded with a smile.
We spent the rest of the afternoon talking and hanging out. There wasn’t much to plan, since we’d already played out this event once before, but it was fun to relive the experience again.
We laughed and joked, stopping to order food and sneak a couple of drinks from the bottle that I kept in the bottom of my toolbox.
It felt great.
Great to have my friends together again, as if the past eight weeks had never happened, and our unit had never been damaged.
“Hey, Sasha,” TJ said as he brought a slice of pizza to his mouth. “I heard you went out with Little John from the bar … You must be running out of guys if that’s the case.”
Little John was a three-hundred-pound bartender with a heart of gold, and a wife who loved him dearly.
“Fuck off, TJ,” Sasha replied, her lip curled in derision. “You’re just jealous cause little Miss Melody has been sniffing around Cal instead of being infatuated with you. I guess you aren’t as great a lay as you think you are.”
I cringed at the mention of Melody and her apparent crush, but laughed at the look on TJ’s face.
“Shit,” TJ responded. “That girl is batshit crazy … But if you’re so curious about what I’m like in the sack, Sasha baby, I’d be happy to take one for the team.”
Sasha jumped to her feet at that, her red hair flying, and her cheeks splotchy with anger. No one could piss her off like TJ could.
